For some years now, the Chennaiites have been coming out with various events every August to collectively celebrate what came to be known as the ‘Madras Week’, focussing on the conservation of the city’s socio-cultural legacy, and learning more of it.
From just a couple of events in 2004, to about 150 events in 2016, the Madras Week events are spread across two weeks around August 22, considered the day when the deal for the city was struck between a Nayak dynasty king and the East India company.
The events are beyond history or a date and involve culture, food, heritage, buildings, people, places and the environment. Typical Madras Week events consist of varied interest groups that explore, share or experience, compete, learn and participate in events conducted by private individuals and public organisations.
An estimated 15,000 people participate across all events; mainstream media and social media generate a lot of conversation too. This visibility is not due to any single organisation, Government or corporate entity.
The Madras Week celebrations stand out simply for being a great example of a community-driven movement that has spread across the city’s calendar to become an annual affair. A lot of the events are not even charged.
Intrigued by this, I undertook a small study of the Madras Week celebrations to understand how it has sustained. Central to the process is a network of catalysts that gets other people to organise their events without any formal structure or control.
There are just two guiding principles — through participation of the citizens and by genuinely involving Chennai, no tamashas. From tree walks to food walks, quiz contests to lectures, each event just aims to enjoy the city’s essence.
The actual “birthday” may be disputed.
However, whatever the date, it is evident that many Chennaiites enjoy being a part of the city in different ways and display it constructively by learning more about it or sharing knowledge. This really is a story of a people who love their city. The romance is going strong 13 years and counting.
(The writer is a former Aaj Tak TV journalist, presently an environment researcher based at Chennai)
